Dual-use roaster

ABSTRACT

A dual-use roaster includes a housing having a receiving space and a peripheral rim, a first heater disposed inside the receiving space, a rotatable spit assembly mounted on the housing for supporting food items inside the receiving space, and a tray assembly including a tray panel for supporting food items, a peripheral downward flange mounted detachably on the peripheral rim of the housing, and a second heater disposed beneath the tray panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a roaster for roasting food items, moreparticularly to a dual-use roaster having a spit assembly and a grilledtray assembly that can be used selectively for supporting food items.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, roasting or baking of food items is done either ontray-type roasters or oven-type roasters. FIG. 1 shows a conventionaltray-type roaster 1 which includes a base 11 and a tray 12 on top of thebase 11. The tray 12 has an electric heater(not shown) provided thereinfor cooking food items placed on the tray 12. This type of roaster has alimited space that can only accommodate small food items, such as slicedmeat or vegetables. In addition, the food items are in direct contactwith the hot surface of the tray 12 during roasting. On the other hand,an oven-type roaster provides a large space to accommodate big or thickfood items, such as a chicken or potatoes, and allows the big food itemsto be heated in a closed space.

Accordingly, these two types of roasters are purposed differently forcooking different food items. Due to the different purposes, the twotypes of roasters can not be used interchangeably. Therefore, one musthave both roasters in order to cook different food items. There is aneed for more space to store or place two types of roasters in a house.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide adual-use roaster to eliminate the need to have two kinds of roasters.

Accordingly, the dual-use roaster of the present invention comprises: ahousing having a top opening, a bottom, and a peripheral side wallextending upward from the bottom to confine a receiving space; a lidassembly mounted on the housing for covering the top opening; a spitassembly mounted detachably on the peripheral side wall to extend acrossthe receiving space; a first heater provided inside the receiving space;a first electrical connector mounted on the housing outwardly of thereceiving space and connected electrically to the first heater; and atray assembly including a tray panel, a second heater disposed at abottom side of the tray panel, and a second electrical connectorconnected electrically to the second heater and mounted on the traypanel, the tray panel being mounted detachably on the housing at the topopening of the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional tray-type roaster;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dual-use roaster of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 shows a detailed connection between the lid assembly and thehousing of the dual-use roaster of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the dual-use roaster ofFIG. 2 with the lid assembly in a closed position;

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the dual-use roaster ofFIG. 2 with the lid assembly in an opened position;

FIG. 5 shows a detailed connection between the driving means and thehousing of the dual-use roaster of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 shows the dual-use roaster of FIG. 2 with the tray assemblymounted thereon; and

FIG. 8 shows the dual-use roaster of FIG. 2 with the tray assemblyremoved therefrom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 2 to 4 show a dual-use roaster 2 embodying the present invention.The dual-use roaster 2 includes a housing 3 having a receiving space 31confined by a front wall 301, a rear wall 302, a pair of opposite sidewalls 303, a bottom 306, a slidable collecting tray 39 which is disposedon the bottom 306 and which can be drawn forward and outward, and a topopening 311 to access the receiving space 31. A first heater 4 isdisposed inside the receiving space 31 adjacent to the rear wall 302,and is connected to a first electrical connector 41 which projectsoutward from one of the side walls 303. The heater 4 is suspended by ahanger 37 attached to the rear wall 302. A pair of opposite studs 32,which are annular in shape, project outward from the top portion of thetwo side walls 303 respectively.

A spit assembly 6 extends across the receiving space 31 and has a rod 61extending through the two opposite studs 32, a spit handle 62 mounted onone end of the rod 61, and a pair of forks 63 mounted detachably on therod 61 between the two opposite side walls 303. Each of the two oppositestuds 32 has a notch 333 which opens upward for mounting the spitassembly 6 and which is aligned with a trough 322 formed in thecorresponding side wall 303.

The housing 3 further includes a rounded stationary cover 36 extendingupward from the top of the rear wall 302 and from a portion of the sidewalls 303 to cover a portion of the top opening 311 of the housing 3.The stationary cover 36 includes a curved cover member 38 extendingupward from the rear wall 302. A lid assembly 9 includes a first lidmember 5 adjacent to the stationary cover 36, and a second lid member 5'adjacent to the first lid member 5.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first lid member 5 has a firstcurved slide wall 51, and two opposite first side slide walls 52extending downward from the first curved slide wall 51. The second lidmember 5' has a second curved slide wall 53 and two opposite second sideslide walls 54 extending downward from the second curved slide walls 53.The first and second side slide walls 52, 54 include first and secondhook portions 521, 541 mounted pivotally and respectively on the twoopposite studs 32, to allow the lid assembly 9 to turn about the studs32 between an opened position (see FIG. 2) and a closed position (seeFIG. 4). The first and second hook portions 521, 541 have first andsecond mouth portions 522, 543 adjacent to the corresponding notches 333formed in the two studs 32. The first and second mouth portions 522, 543are aligned respectively with the notches 333 of the studs 32 formounting the spit assembly 6 when the lid assembly 9 is in an openposition.

Each of the studs 32 is mounted with a sleeve 33 on one end forpositioning the first and second hook portions 521, 541 on the studs 32.Each of the sleeves 33 includes a slit portion 331 and is turnable aboutthe corresponding stud 32. When each slit portion 331 is turned to bealigned with the corresponding mouth portions 522, 543 and the notch333, the spit assembly 6 can be mounted horizontally on the housing 3 byextending the former in the aligned slit portions 331, the mouthportions 522, 543, and the notches 333.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the curved cover member 38 includes a firstupward end flange 361 on one end. A stopper 362 is disposed on the topportion of the rear wall 302 below the first upward end flange 361. Thefirst curved slide wall 51 includes a second upward end flange 511 onone end, and a first downward end flange 512 on the other end. Thesecond curved slide wall 53 includes a second downward end flange 532 onone end, and a bolt 551 screwed on the other end to fix a lid handle 56on the second lid member 5'. The first upward and downward end flanges361, 512 engage one another, and the second upward and downward endflanges 511, 532 engage one another, when the lid assembly 9 is slid tothe closed position (see FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 6, the first downwardend flange 512 is slid over the stationary cover 36 until it reaches thestopper 362, and the bolt 551 is stopped by the second upward end flange511, when the lid assembly 9 is in the opened position. The secondcurved slide wall 53 has a transparent window 531 provided therein topermit viewing of the roasting condition of the food items from theoutside of the housing 3 even though the lid assembly 9 is in the closedposition.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, the dual-use roaster further includes abracket plate 35 projecting outward from one of the side walls 303, anddriving means 7 mounted on the bracket plate 35. The driving means 7includes a motor base 71 and a motor assembly 72 disposed on the motorbase 71. The motor base 71 includes an upside plate 711 and an undersideplate 712 spaced apart from the upside plate 711. The underside plate712 has a screw hole 713 for receiving a screw rod 714 having a screwhead 716. A clamp plate 715 disposed on the tail end of the screw rod714 for clamping the motor base 71 onto the bracket plate 35 by turningthe screw rod 714 to move the clamp plate 715 toward the bracket plate35. The motor assembly 72 includes a driving part 721 to receive aconnecting end 611 of the rod 61 of the spit assembly 6. The portions ofthe rod 61 received in the two opposite studs 32 preferably have acircular cross-section for achieving a smooth rotation, while theremaining portions of the rod 61 can have a rectangular cross-section.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7, the housing 3 further includes aperipheral shoulder 313 extending along the top ends of the front, rear,and side walls 301, 302, 303, a peripheral rim 312 raised from theperipheral shoulder 313 to confine the top opening 311, and a cutout 304disposed in the front side wall 301.

A tray assembly 8 includes a tray panel 81 having drip holes 812, agrill 811 disposed above the tray panel 81, and a second electric heater82 disposed at the bottom side of the tray panel 81 and connectedelectrically to a second electrical connector 821. The tray panel 81further includes a peripheral downward flange 813 adapted to bepositioned by the peripheral rim 312 of the housing 3 for mounting thetray assembly 8 on the dual-use roaster 2.

As shown in FIG. 7, the dual-use roaster 2 is ready to serve uponelectrically connecting the second heater 82 to an electrical powersource via the second electrical connector 821 and an electric plugconnector 21. During use, food items are laid on the grill 811 forroasting, while oil or grease released from the food items drip throughthe drip holes 812 for collection in the collecting tray 39.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, when the food item for roasting is a chicken20, the tray assembly 8 is dismounted from the housing 3, and thechicken 20 is mounted on the spit assembly 6 and is fixed by the twoopposite forks 63. With the slit portions 331 of the sleeves 33 beingturned to align with the notches 333 of the studs 32 and the mouthportions 522, 543 of the hook portions 521, 541, the spit assembly 6having the chicken 20 mounted thereon can be placed horizontally acrossthe receiving space 31. The slit portions 331 of the sleeves 33 areturned away from the notches 333 to prevent the spit assembly 6 frombeing released accidentally. The dual-use roaster 2 of this inventionforms a large opening between the lid assembly 9 and the housing 3 whenthe first and second lid members 5, 5' are opened, thereby facilitatingthe mounting and dismounting of the spit assembly 6 which carries alarge volume of food, such as a chicken, thereon via the receiving space31 and the top opening 311 thereof.

The first and second electrical connectors 41, 821 are of the samedimension. The electrical plug connector 21 is connectable selectivelyto the first and second electrical connectors 41, 821 so that thedual-use roaster 2 of this invention can serve as a rotisserie when theelectrical plug connector 21 is connected to the first electricalconnector 41 and as a grill when the electrical plug connector 21 isconnected to the second electrical connector 821. The electrical plugconnector 21 is provided with a thermostat 210 so as to control heatingrates of the first and second heaters 4, 82.

The spit assembly 6 can be rotated by operating manually the handle 62or by actuating the motor assembly 72. The chicken 20 is uniformlyheated by the first heater 4 as it is rotated.

The use of the sleeves 33 in the dual-use roaster 2 of the presentinvention is optional. The sleeves 33 can be dispensed with if the studs32 have sufficient length projecting outward from the side walls 303 toprevent the lid assembly 9 from moving away from the housing 3.

The dual-use roaster of the present invention can adapt a timer (notshown)for controlling the electric power, the motor assembly 72 and thefirst and second heaters 4, 82.

With the invention thus explained, it is apparent that variousmodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit of the present invention. It is therefore intended that theinvention be limited only as recited in the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A dual-use roaster comprising:a housing having a top opening, a bottom, and a peripheral side wall extending upward from said bottom to confine a receiving space; a lid assembly mounted on said housing for covering said top opening; a spit assembly mounted detachably on said peripheral side wall to extend across said receiving space; a first heater provided inside said receiving space; a first electrical connector mounted on said housing outwardly of said receiving space and connected electrically to said first heater; a tray assembly including a tray panel, a second heater disposed at a bottom side of said tray panel, and a second electrical connector connected electrically to said second heater and mounted on said tray panel, said tray assembly being mounted detachably on said peripheral side wall, said first and second electrical connectors being of the same dimension; and an electrical plug connector connectable selectively to said first and second electrical connectors.
 2. A dual-use roaster comprising:a housing having a top opening, a bottom, and a peripheral side wall extending upward from said bottom to confine a receiving space; a lid assembly mounted on said housing for covering said top opening; a spit assembly mounted detachably on said peripheral side wall to extend across said receiving space; a first heater provided inside said receiving space; a first electrical connector mounted on said housing outwardly of said receiving space and connected electrically to said first heater; a tray assembly including a tray panel, a second heater disposed at a bottom side of said tray panel, and a second electrical connector connected electrically to said second heater and mounted on said tray panel, said tray assembly being mounted detachably on said peripheral side wall, said first and second electrical connectors being of the same dimension; and an electrical plug connector connectable selectively to said first and second electrical connectors, said electrical plug connector being provided with a thermostat for controlling heating rates of said first and second heaters.
 3. A dual-use roaster comprising:a housing having a top opening, a bottom, and a peripheral side wall extending upward from said bottom to confine a receiving space, said housing further having two studs disposed on said peripheral side wall at said top opening on two opposite sides of said receiving space, said studs having notches which open upward and which are aligned along the direction of said spit assembly, said spit assembly being mounted horizontally on said studs via said notches; a lid assembly mounted on said housing for covering said top opening; a spit assembly mounted detachably on said peripheral side wall to extend across said receiving space; a first heater provided inside said receiving space; a first electrical connector mounted on said housing outwardly of said receiving space and connected electrically to said first heater; and a tray assembly including a tray panel, a second heater disposed at a bottom side of said tray panel, and a second electrical connector connected electrically to said second heater and mounted on said tray panel, said tray assembly being mounted detachably on said peripheral side wall. 